Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A strong record with one exception. Its best grade is for health (A−): it is healthier than 75% of U.S. towns. Berne grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 343rd of 745 in New York. At about $296K, a typical home costs 3.4 years of the Albany metro’s $88K median household income. The trade-off is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. 18% of the land in the town is conserved, above both New York’s towns (5.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US.
Where Berne beats most towns.
Where Berne’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Berne is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,134 in 1810, a low of 1,210 in 1930, 2,689 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and a map from 1900 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berne. Close and well known come first.
31 mi MuseumOlana State Historic Site
19 mi Stadium & arenaMVP Arena
19 mi MuseumUSS Slater
29 mi WaterfallKaaterskill Falls15 mi CaveHowe Caverns
20 mi Ancient siteFort OrangeOlana State Historic Site: Netniks, CC BY-SA 4.0 · MVP Arena: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Slater: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kaaterskill Falls: Mwanner, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Orange: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berne, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Berne.
Berne is a second-home town and has less no health insurance than most of New York.
Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area, at 4,544 acres with 18.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. In 12 parks and preserves, walkers have 45 miles of trail. Berne’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Berne | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 18% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area | 18.1 mi | 4,544 |
| 2. Cole Hill State Forest | 7.7 mi | 846 |
| 3. Switzkill Farm | 4.3 mi | 363 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Berne-Knox-Westerlo Junior-Senior High School, with 311 students. Public schools: the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berne-Knox-Westerlo Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 365 | B− |
| Berne-Knox-Westerlo Junior-Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 311 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New York is no health insurance: 4.9% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 7.9% statewide. Against the 7,815 U.S. towns with household incomes like Berne’s, it is healthier than 60%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
18% of adults binge drink in Berne. Against the New York average, Berne comes out ahead on 8 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 5. In Berne, 15% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 16% say their health is fair or poor.
| Berne | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 4.9% | 5.9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Berne | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.9% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 17.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For half of commuters, work is under 16 miles away. In Berne, the mean commuting time is 33 minutes. The town had 342 jobs in 2023, down 21 from 2013. The share of residents in Berne who live below the poverty line: 3.1%.
| Berne | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $105,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
21.9% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 3.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Nearly a fifth of Berne residents are under 18. Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide). Also worth knowing: the age of the median resident for Berne comes to 47.7 years. Four-year graduates: 35% of adults 25 and older here, 40% across New York.
| Berne | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.7 years | 42.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 32% | 29% |
44% women, 56% men
About 127 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.2 points). Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Berne | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.2% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 18.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.8% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38.4% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.9% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
Summer afternoons peak near 81° in July, and January nights bottom out around 13°; snowfall runs to about 46 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On expected storm and flood damage, Berne sits below 53% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 78% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 7% to tornadoes. Since 1996, Berne has seen 3 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among households in Berne, 94% own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Berne; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Berne residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
6 notable people were born in Berne.
Town in New York, United States
Berne is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 2,689 at the 2020 census. The town is at the western border of Albany County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Berne.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berne | #343 | B | B− | — | B | A− |
| Middleburgh | #519 | C | B− | — | B− | B |
| New Scotland | #75 | A | C+ | — | A | A |
| Knox | #195 | A− | B | — | B | A |
| Broome | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rensselaerville | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A |
| Westerlo | #327 | B | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Wright | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
Rensselaerville and Wright have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Berne, Middleburgh, New Scotland, Knox, Rensselaerville, Westerlo and Wright report no FBI crime data of their own. Broome isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Berne with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Berne grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #343 of 745 in New York. It grades A− for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
The typical home is worth about $296,000, 44% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
6 notable people were born here, including Joseph P. Bradley and Elihu Doty.
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